Stafford, Harry

Harry was born in Crewe, in Cheshire . He worked as a boiler foreman on the local railway, and on Saturday played football for the Southport Central ^[2] .

In 1892, Stafford joined the Crew Alexandra Football Club. In 1896, he was offered a job at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Railway Company, whose employees were in favor of Newton Heat. Stafford accepted the offer and moved to the club from Manchester , where he was appointed captain .

Gareth Dykes in his book The United Alphabet noted that Stafford “was distinguished for his dandy-like clothes, which included white hats and bright colored vests” ^[2] .

Meanwhile, at the beginning of the 20th century, Newton Heat was experiencing serious financial problems, because of which the club was on the verge of bankruptcy. In order to raise funds, the club organized a four-day charity "bazaar" in the St. James Hall Manchester. The club needed to raise £ 1,000 to avoid bankruptcy. Even Manchester City, Newton Heat rivals, donated money. ^[2] But after three days of the “bazaar”, it became clear that the funds raised were not enough. Captain "Newton Heat" Harry Stafford decided to take to the "bazaar" of his St. Bernard dog, nicknamed Major ( Major ). The dog roamed freely around the hall, and a donation box was tied to his back. On the fourth day of the Bazaar, the dog ran out into the street and somehow ended up at the house of the local businessman John Henry Davis , the owner of the Manchester Brewing Company. Davis liked the St. Bernard, and he decided to buy it for his daughter. After this, a meeting took place between Davis and Stafford, during which the latter was able to convince the businessman to invest in Newton Heat in exchange for a dog. “Newton Heat” was saved from bankruptcy, and in 1902 changed its name to “Manchester United” ^{[1] [2]} .

Stafford was the captain of the Newton Heat from 1896 to 1903 , having spent a total of 200 matches for the club and scoring one goal (in the FA Cup 1900/1901 season). In 1903, Harry ended his football career, after which he managed the hotel in Wrexham , Denbyshire , Wales , and then moved to Canada , where he also managed a large hotel.

His son, Harry Stafford, Jr., died on December 17, 1988 at the age of 87. In 2002, information appeared that he could be one of the victims of serial killer Harold Shipman ^[3] .

• Soccer player profile at StretfordEnd.co.uk
• Profile of a soccer player and photo of a St. Bernard named Major who saved the club from bankruptcy at MUFCInfo.com
• Spartacus Educational footballer article